Kilkies in Southend-on-Sea

Visited yesterday with my husband and sat outside in the sun. We ordered padron peppers, crab orzo and truffle and Parmesan fries with a beer and a rock shandy. The food and drinks were lovely, the crab orzo was amazing and I will definitely be back to have the main size portion of this. The prices do seem slightly too high for the fries and the padron peppers considering how much you get, however we had a lovely time, enjoyed all of it and will be back. It would be good if other customers sitting outside paid attention to the no smoking sign however as it’s a small space and unpleasant.

We’ve found that over the years Kilkies food has become REALLY hit or miss. The dishes are very inconsistent, often swimming in oil, and they taste very similar as so many are served with the “pom pom” sauce or the tapenade (this seems to make it’s way onto dishes where the menu makes no mention of it, so try as you might, you can’t avoid it!) The prices have also sky rocketed, making it very expensive for a meal that isn’t really enjoyable. We’ll happily pay any price for great food, but on our last visit we left feeling thoroughly ripped off! The food was average at best, our Italian vegetable sharing plate was missing the promised pickles and warm bread…and half the plate was filled with “that” tapenade! Kilkies is pretty much the only place in Leigh that you can turn up to and get a table without a reservation…in my mind, there’s a glaringly obvious reason for that!

Had lunch here yesterday. We’ve been coming on & off for years, (each time delivering a different experience) but as a last minute plan we can always get a table, so find ourselves at Kilkies by default really. Yesterday’s lunch has determined us never to return. The servers are pleasant, but the food took so long to arrive. We waited a good 45 minutes, with only 1 other table in the restaurant, for very mediocre food. Very oily overall, the dishes not served as described, & an abundance of tapenade & red sauce that serves as a plate filler on too many dishes. Very average food, that took up too much of my day & was very overpriced. The prices have been suddenly & dramatically increased, (not in line with other restaurants increases) yet the food was the worst we’ve ever had there. If you’re eating in Leigh, book somewhere decent in advance, or grab a sandwich from one of the many delis. Don’t be drawn in to Kilkies; the tables are empty for a reason!

We have visited Kilkies several times as it’s present name and several when it was the Sandbar. I fear our latest visit may be our last until we hear things have improved. The service was fine, fairly inexperienced but friendly enough. However, the quality of the food has been declining for a while. I had the scallops, 3 smallish wrapped in bacon, over seared and a little dry. The Herring starter was good. Mains. The fish kebab was ok, the mussels were very bland. Sitting in greasy dishwater. The fries were over salted. Deserts fig was lovely the amereto ice cream with it great. The coconut and pistachio tapioca was not great. With a couple of glasses of wine and a couple of beers it was £115 with a tip. So mid range but not of adequate quality. The ambience of the place is lovely. So it’s a shame the food has dropped off.

Iv been a few times and the food has got worse every time I have been back, I give them the benefit of the doubt but this weekend I had their special they were advertising that was a sea food lasagna. The taste was there but the lasagna was dry and the topping was hard and burnt, basically in-edible. They offered me another piece but the people I was with had nearly eaten their main course so I decided not to have another one. I left the restaurant without having a main course. Even though they would change the food, it had already spoilt my experience in the restaurant and I would have eaten on my own if I had accepted another piece of lasagna. I will not eat in there again.

This is the 3rd time I had been to Kilkies restaurant in LoS. My first time back in August 2021 and I thought it was absolutely great. I really loved the food and the ambiance of the place (particularly upstairs) was really lovely. However, on each subsequent visit, I have been left completely underwhelmed. My last visit on Tuesday 1st November was another bad experience which has prompted this review. If you don't want to read on then the summary is that the food is Ok (just ok) at Kilkies but the service is absolutely abhorrent. So lets start with the food... It's far from the best around in my experience but it's decent and well-presented. The portion sizes are on the small side and I would recommend loading up with some sides if you want a good-sized meal. On my latest visit, the food was cold and generally unappealing. Basically, I had tuna steak with salad. Moving onto the service. There was one young lad running the front of the restaurant and he was clearly very inexperienced. I don't blame the young man - I blame the management of the restaurant for thinking that such inexperience can offer patrons the experience they are seeking on a night out. I mean with the world in financial crisis at this time with many people struggling eating out is now a considered choice. It's disappointing when an evening out doesn't go so well. Here are some of the reasons why... * A single waiter serving who was young and as it turned out very inexperienced. * Service was slow - the usual "can we have another 2 mins before ordering?" turned into another 15 mins. * The restaurant was cold and appeared to lack any heating. My partner and I donned coats when eating the main course. * The waiter placed a table for 2 under the stairs next to a 'mind your head' sign. * My partner and I were seated at a 90-degree angle from each other. There was plenty of space elsewhere in the restaurant ( I wanted to move but my partner didn't want to cause a fuss) * Waiter was asked for general advice on what courses came with. He clearly had no idea and decided instead to read the descriptions from the menu. Did he think we hadn't already done that? * Restaurant extremely limited with hot drinks. A limited selection of teas on offer - nothing herbal. My partner plumped for hit water with lemon which... unbelievably... wasn't even hot! * The waiter messed up a simple dessert request for custard. He brought my partner cold custard(!) which given the temps in the restaurant was the last thing needed! * The waiter's boots whilst stylish, were very noisy when he walked around. So apologies to the young man that I'm implicating in most of this review. He tried his best but needs a bit more support and training from more experienced peers around him, Its a shame but I'll now be crossing Kilkies off my list. I won't be back based on my 3 visits and thats a shame as I like to support local local business around the LoS area.

Went to kilkies on a Sunday afternoon. Atmosphere was lovely however service was slow for drinks. When going to order our food at 16:15 we were told the kitchen was closed yet they had not warned us or given any sign that we had to order before 4pm! We were celebrating my sisters birthday and was totally gutted we had already spent 45 minutes in a place that we then could not eat in and had to find somewhere else to eat when we both had children to be home for in such a short period of time. Total disappointment, especially after seeing other peoples food who had literally been brought out right before we tried to order!!

We had a family birthday lunch on a Sunday here and we all thought it was fabulous! Very tasty food, great portion size, friendly attentive service and a nice atmosphere. We had a mixture of main courses which were all beautifully cooked. My son loved the skinny fries, the truffle fries were divine and the fish all tasted very fresh. We'll be back!

As we walked in the restaurant we had a very warm welcome, we were made fantastic cocktails and ordered a meze of starters when the food came out it was a feast for the eyes and from the prawns we ordered to the bread, the risotto and the prawn and crayfish cocktail it tasted world class. When our mains came out from the seabass to the surf and turf the only word I can use to describe it is perfect and I have to give a special mention to the french martinis they were lovely. All I can say it was an amazing evening that I will never forget with great food, service and atmosphere. I will definitely be going back very soon and would highly recommend anyone to visit for a fantastic meal and a fantastic evening.

In a Broadway that is full of restaurants trying to be trendy, it is wonderful to remember the classic establishments who deliver quality food. This may not be the busiest of restaurants, but if you’re looking for quality fish that’s cooked perfectly, to accommodate families, couples, dates and allsorts of occasions, and I highly recommend this restaurant. My daughter and I shared a delicious fish paella, that was cooked like it was straight out of Valencia. Very generous portion size and full of flavour! However my wife died on the very flashy skate wing that was the special of the day, and the caper butter was divine that it was served with. Love the food, the service was excellent and we must remember this joyful experience

Popped in without a booking on Sunday lunch. Wow. Lovely setting and well doctorates place with nice cutlery and crockery. Reasonably priced food and very good quality. Prawn risotto 10/10 Salmon Poke Bowl 10/10 Mussels and fries 11/10 amazing Staff 10/10 friendly, nothing too much. Definitely coming back.

Sitting in Kilkies having just finished their Smashed Avo with poached eggs on toast. Absolutely delicious! Will definitely be back for another one soon. Great service too from Jordan. Highly recommend Thanks Kilkies

We dropped into Kilkies today for lunch while we were having a stroll on Leigh Broadway. Loved the decor and the ambience and the serving staff were a delight. Really delicious main courses (Salmon salad and Haddock), nice of wine and service with a smile. Can't wait to go back.

We went for family birthdays there was 10 of us we were not shown to our table and were told to go upstairs. The table was in the corner upstairs we were the only ones upstairs. We had to wait for drinks and then they forgot the beers. Only 2 drinks menus for the 10 of us we ordered a bottle of Prosecco a bottle of red and a bottle of Sauvignon blanc. The girl came back and said the bottle of Sauvignon was not available but they had an alternative which we said okay. What she did not say was that the substitute was £70.00 a bottle we found that out when we received the bill. The food was good but service was horrendous, no glasses were removed from the table and no glasses cleared throughout the meal. We could not have cocktails as there was only one adult in the place serving drinks. We asked for coffee at the end of the meal and was told NO !! They had cleaned the coffee machine and could not now serve coffees. The toilets were also locked we had to get them opened so that we could use them before leaving to go home. For a meal that cost us nearly £600 for the night we would expect a much better service and the owners need to employ more adults rather than children to serve. Would not recommend which is a shame !! Service charge of over £50 was included in price which really was not deserved !!!!

This was one of the most bizarre restaurant experiences I’ve ever had! We managed to sit at a small table by the window on a busy Saturday night during Leigh folk festival. All I can say is what a shambles! Drinks orders were wrong the bar staff we’re asking us to google drinks ingredients and punters were having to show how to make them. Food arrived late without cutlery and napkins. I’ll give the staff some credit as did try but as we were right by the phone my boyfriend has to play front of house! ( he picked up the phone about 3 times during the course of our dinner as it just kept ringing) Continuous phone calls by the restaurant manager angry and asking what the hell was going on in her bar! We had no clue either! Food was excellent I must say which was seriously confusing considering what was going on at the front. Surreally good food

Such a poor experience , went here for my sons birthday and totally underwhelmed as previously said young under experienced staff who were too busy talking to each other to serve customers especially when the restaurant was half full Food was cold and would not...

Food was great, service was exceptional! Staff were really friendly and attentive - highly recommend

I won’t be returning here. Firstly we were left waiting at the front door for quite a while before anyone approached us. I could mention several things but suffice to say the service was not good - very inexperienced staff, it seemed. We waited simply...

Great fish restaurant especially since we did not book and they gave us a great table right at the front of the restaurant with great views for people watching!

First time visiting the area Leigh on Sea. We wanted to sample seafood cuisine and found this restaurant. Very pleased we did. We found the food (salmon, Kilkies Bouillabaisse ) fresh and delicious, portions were good too; and the service we received from two male...

I booked a table on the 2nd off April at 7 pm for my wife's 51st birthday I was told by staff that half off the menu was not available. I asked if I could still have surf and turf but wad told by staff...

I booked a table for four online at Kilkie's for Mother's Day, what a disappointment all round. Online there was no information about only having a Mother's Day menu, just the normal menu. Anyway, we sat down at our table and looked at the menu,...

Below average service and food. Seemed more of a bar than a restaurant. Beer was fine. Food bland and felt a touch over priced.

Selected this seafood restaurant due to glowing reviews and recommendations- for seafood ( obviously!). Unfortunately we booked for Valentine’s night - at no point was it mentioned on phone booking that there was a set menu (£36) which for its main course had the novel...

This use to be a lovely restaurant but just feel it’s lost it’s charm. The menu choice is lot smaller but the food was nice. The service was good. The disappointment is Why on earth has graffiti been scribbled on the pictures and tacky quotes...

Have eaten here before and the food was absolutely amazing so I thought it would be a good idea to book for valentines day with my partner. I wasn't informed until a week after I had booked it that I had to pay a £20...

We had what only i can call impeccable service from your team yesterday! The service and manner of the three was outstanding. At a busy time they were never rude, always checking in, and just had a wonderful approach to everyone. (Even those that were...

Highly recommend excellent seafood restaurant. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Friendly knowledgeable staff. Chef is brilliant! Homemade desserts Loved the icecream

Recommended by friends and was not disappointed! Outstanding food thoroughly enjoyed the specials of surf and turf, Dover sole and even with a few items not available just made it easier to choose !!! Finlay at the bar really made our evening with some superb...

Well it was good when it was the Sand Bar. But even better now. Excellent menu, with enough variety for everyone. Service was good and pricing was reasonable. We will return.

Had dinner here on a Tuesday night and had a wonderful meal. Service was great and we had a nice table set up for us facing outside. I had the mussels and chips and boulibase, all excellent - best chips I've ever had. Had previously...

Booked for lunchtime through Open Table a week ago then had email yesterday asking us to confirm we were still going. Had a reply saying looking forward to welcoming us, so you can imagine our frustration and disappointment when we arrived today and the restaurant...

I was pleasantly surprised by Kilkies. I had chosen it as it was somewhere that I could take both my mother and her dog. The downstairs dining room is dog friendly, whilst there is an upstairs area for the canine averse. Shared some soft shell...

My other half and I had booked a table for Saturday evening. We were offered the option to sit downstairs as upstairs was very busy and noisy. We chose to sit downstairs which was a lot quieter. The food was lovely, we shared 2 small...

This was our first meal out this year and Kilkies didn’t disappoint. Excellent food and service, lovely atmosphere. I can highly recommend the poke bowls, the seafood is always amazing. Can’t wait to go back.

Just enjoyed a delicious lobster roll, chocolate brownie and coffee as a take away from the lovely Kilkiesseafood. Such a sumptuous Friday treat. Plenty of other choices that also looked and smelt tempting, particularly the focaccia bread. Really looking forward to eating at the restaurant...

Lovely lunch, Italian pickles and Soft shell crab and bean salad was fab . Extremely friendly staff, great vibe. Leigh broadway buzzing.